Granada

“Throughout history by going to far places and seeing strange sights men have prodded their imagination. They have found amazement and delight and have reflected that life back home need not be what it has been. They have learned that…there is more than one way to skin a cat, that there are more things in heaven and earth than was dreamt of in their philosophy, that the possibilities of life are not exhausted on Main Street…Travel has been the universal catalyst. It has made men think faster, imagine larger, want more passionately.”


I think Granada was my favorite city that we visited. First of all, there is the Alhambra. I don't mean to get all guidebook, tourist-y on you, but it IS the most visited tourist site in Spain...and this is for a reason. It is beautiful. When we got our ticket, it indicated the four hour time slot we had to go there, and I remember thinking, what are we going to do there for four hours? There is plenty to do. The views of the city are incredible, the architecture and intracicies of the castle design are impeccable, and the grounds are impressive too. The watchtower and surrounding areas look like something out of a Lord of the Rings movie. I remember thinking, wow, people actually lived here.

Second, there are tons of beautiful streets to wander around in get lost in. Everything in the city is very close together, so you can walk EVERYWHERE, which is great. The streets had a very Arabic feel to them, lots of Moorish architecture, many tea shops, and Arab stores. I think we took a photo on every street corner because everything was so pretty. It helped that it was sunny and in the high 50s in Granada...it was the first time I hadn't worn my winter coat since I was in Idaho!

& then of course, there are other tourist sites to visit. The Mirador St. Nicolas gives a beautiful view of the Alhambra at sunset & I could've stared off into the mountains for hours if there weren't so many people around. There was also a breathtaking monestary which was covered from floor to ceiling in paintings. For me, it was the most awe-inspiring place of worship we went to in Spain. We also went to the Granada cathedral, which is gorgeous in its own rite, and equal to any of the other cathedrals we visited.

The food in Granada was amazing too! The director of our hostel really new a lot about the city & reccomended the best restaurant to us: Paprika! We liked it so much we went twice! It's not dirt cheap, but it is so delicious & really reasonable if you split something. It's such a great ambiance too! I sat on a stone bench in an alcove in the wall & the plates & chairs were all different bright colors. The wine, the food, the physical ambiance...everything was perfect!

The only problem we ran into in Granada was the bus we were going to take to Vallencia was full, so we had to take the train. But it ended up being an adventure & my first experience in a train-hotel! FYI - sleeping on a train is just about as comfortable as you'd imagine.

& with that, we said goodbye to a truly amazing city...